Nixon calls special session to pass Boeing incentives

Nov. 29, 2013

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Gov. Jay Nixon today called a special session of the General Assembly to begin Monday, in an effort to pass an incentive package to lure production of Boeing’s newest jetliner to Missouri.

Boeing last week requested a proposal from the state, which is due Dec. 10. Nixon said legislative action is needed if Missouri is to put forward a competitive proposal.

Nixon has previously met privately with Boeing executives as Missouri competes with at least five other states to produce the Boeing 777X commercial airplane. Producing the plane in Missouri, likely in the St. Louis area, would add thousands of jobs, on top of the 15,000 Boeing jobs already in the state.

Specifically, Nixon is asking the General Assembly add up to $150 million for large-scale aerospace projects under Missouri’s existing economic development programs.

“In order to put forward a competitive proposal on this very aggressive time line, decisive legislative action is required to add capacity to four of Missouri’s existing economic development programs, which already include strict job creation and investment requirements, so that they can accommodate an aerospace project on this scale,” Nixon said in a statement.

Missouri is among several states vying to produce the Boeing 777X commercial airplane, a twin-engine jet that will seat up to 400.

Alabama, California, South Carolina, Texas and Utah also are pursuing the project. The Chicago-based aircraft manufacturing giant initially wanted to build the jet in Washington state, where the company was founded, but union machinists refused to accept concessions in a proposed contract.

In an address to St. Louis business leaders on Wednesday, the governor said the state has a strong position in its talks with Boeing.

“As governor, I am committed to capitalizing on these strengths and seizing this historic opportunity to open a new chapter for Missouri’s aerospace industry and our state, while honoring our proud past of aviation excellence by building a future that’s even brighter,” Nixon said.

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Republicans also appear on board with efforts to lure the company to the state.

Republican state Senate Majority Leader Ron Richard has said he supports special tax incentives to try to land the plant. A new plant would likely mean thousands of new jobs. Boeing says it expects to choose a location by early 2014.

House Speaker Tim Jones, R-Eureka, said on Wednesday that without any hard details, he was cautiously optimistic about any potential incentive package. But Jones also criticized Nixon’s veto of House Bill 253, a tax-cut bill.

“We trust that the governor will be much more willing to work with us rather than against us as we pursue this latest opportunity,” Jones said in a statement.

Missouri has a recent history of using tax incentives to lure manufacturing to the state. In 2008, lawmakers authorized $240 million of tax credits for Bombardier Aerospace to build passenger jets near Kansas City International Airport. The company instead chose to manufacture the planes in Mirabel, Canada, near its Montreal headquarters.

Two years later, Nixon summoned legislators to a special session to consider incentives for Ford Motor Co. to continue manufacturing vehicles at its facility near Kansas City. Lawmakers subsequently approved $150 million of auto industry incentives that have been used by Ford and General Motors Co. to expand production in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas.

Nixon is allowed to a convene a special session for up to 60 calendar days, though there are less than 60 days left until the start of the legislature’s regular session in January.

In special session, the General Assembly may only consider subjects recommended by the governor, so even though Nixon, a Democrat, would be convening a legislature with a Republican supermajority, they would be restrained in what kinds of bills they could take up.